South Park Revisited

"Gonna go to South Park gonna leave my woes behind..."

Reading my own postage on Dramanalysing (I too love the term!) South Park I feel I need to clarify something:

What I'm stating is that the whole Main Character throughline is reduced in this show to a cartoon depiction of a rock singer reciting just six verses... And that's it!

How can this work as a Main character throughline?

Because Les Claypool (singer of the band "Primus" and Main Character in question) has a history of dark-satirical-critical songs about the American southern workers and their culture and environment. And that's what the show is all about.

So, Les Claypool backstory is so well known (I repeat, to the focused viewer, the dark-satirical-critical viewer, the Primus fan) that it instantly becomes a Main Character view of the show.

To give a less obscure example of how this weaving technique works, let's suppose that we're about to watch a film about the virtues of eating red meat, and in the first seconds appears our Presenter: Paul McCartney himself!

His only words could be: (Cockney accent) "Hello, I'm Paul McCartney, what you're about to see is a film about the virtues of eating animal flesh. Enjoy."

Bam! In a second you have a complete Main Character view. It won't matter if the film sings hallelujahs to eating animal protein. Paul McCartney vision is already there. A figure so well known, with an attitude so clear about the film subject matter can't be ignored. You'll have to identify with him just because is so much well known than the views of the featured film.

Detached Main characters like that tend to be steadfast, because we can't see their reactions when the story is completely exposed. But we can temper their views in terms of Outcome and Judgement. So the Main Character remained steadfast, but the meat eaters had such a huge success in the film that Paul looses.

There's another point: maybe you hate Paul McCartney guts to begin with, maybe you were a Creedence or Rolling Stones fan and can bear the sight of Macca. Then the Main Character doesn't have a chance to redeem himself, and the whole movie you'll be rooting for the guy with the steak knife, just because you didn't agree with the Main Character famous backstory.

I mean, the detached Main Character technique is a dangerous one (even if you don't depend on the past history of a famous rock star) but it shows another way of weaving our beloved throughlines.

  


$149.95                       $29.95          

*Try either or both for 90 days.  Not working for you?  Return for a full refund of your purchase price!

About Dramatica and StoryWeaver

What They Do

Dramatica is a tool to help you build a perfect story structure.  StoryWeaver is a tool to help you build your story's world.

Dramatica focuses on the underlying logic of your story, making sure there are no holes or inconsistencies. 

StoryWeaver focuses on the creative process, boosting your inspiration and guiding it to add depth, detail and passion  to your story.

How They Do It

Dramatica has the world's only patented interactive Story Engine™ which cross-references your answers to questions about your dramatic intent, then finds any weaknesses in your structure and even suggests the best ways to strengthen them.

StoryWeaver uses a revolutionary new creative format as you follow more than 200 Story Cards™ step by step through the story development process.  You'll design the people who'll inhabit your story's world, what happens to them, and what it all means.

How They Work Alone

By itself Dramatica appeals to structural writers who like to work out all the details of their stories logically before they write a word.

By itself, StoryWeaver appeals to intuitive writers who like to follow their Muse and develop their stories as they go.

How They Work Together

But, the finished work of a structural writer can often lack passion, which is where StoryWeaver can help.  And the finished work of an intuitive writer can often lack direction, which is where Dramatica can help.

So, while each kind of writer will find one program or the other the most initially appealing, both kinds of writers can benefit from both programs.

Try Either Program Risk Free!

We have a 90 Day Return Policy here at Storymind.  Try either or both of these products and if you aren't completely satisfied we'll cheerfully refund your purchase price.

 

Dramatica Details & Demo  StoryWeaver Details & Demo

 

Contact Us - About Us - Lowest Price Guarantee - Shipping - Return Policy

Copyright Melanie Anne Phillips - Owner, Storymind.com, Creator Storyweaver, Co-creator Dramatica